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     Greetings and welcome to another Berean Break.  This program is based on the word of God.  My name is George A. Sinkie and I am so glad that you have joined me for this study.  We are studying a series of lessons on Examining The Lord’s Church.  This study is serious and thought-provoking.  As we begin, let’s go to God in prayer:

Great God in heaven,  we thank You for this time together and Your word.  As we study Your word help us to be sincere and open our hearts and minds to Your will.  Dear God, may we love You completely and demonstrate our love by obeying Your will.  We pray this in Jesus’ name,  AMEN!!

     As I mentioned these are very serious lessons and because of that, it is sometimes necessary to make the application of truth directly to the errors of man-made religions.  When I may name a particular denomination or denominational belief it is not to hurt those who may follow them but show how those groups or doctrines are not found in the word of God.

     If a person drove throughout almost any area, they would soon see several religious groups, wearing different names, teaching different doctrines, and worshiping differently.  Yet the Bible teaches that Christ built only one church, in Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.”
     It’s only reasonable for a person to ask, “Why are there so many churches?  Why is there so much confusion in the religious world today?”  After all friends, Jesus does not desire that it exists.  Each person should be asking “With all the different churches around us today, which one is the church I read about in the Bible?”
     In our search for the Lord’s church, let’s consider the prophecies made of the church.  If a church is the true church of Christ then it will be according to the prophecies.

     Numerous prophecies in the Old Testament speak of Christ’s church.  One thing that we must understand is that the kingdom of the Lord and the Lord’s church is referring to the same thing.  Isaiah prophesied of the time when Christ’s church would be built in Isaiah 2:2-3, “Now it will come about that In the last days, The mountain of the house of the Lord Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.  And many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways, And that we may walk in His paths.”  For the law will go forth from Zion, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
     Daniel 2:31-45 records King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, interpreted by Daniel.  In this dream, Nebuchadnezzar had seen a great image consisting of four different elements.  The head of gold represented the Babylonian Empire.  The breast and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian Empire.  The belly and thighs of brass represented the Greek, or Macedonian, Empire.  The legs of iron and feet of iron and clay represented the Roman Empire.  In his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, Daniel explained Christ’s eternal kingdom, the church, would be established in the days of the Roman rulers.  Let’s read that section of Daniel’s interpretation which is found in Daniel 2:44-45, ‘“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.  Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”’

     Christ’s church was not only prophesied in the Old Testament but she was also prepared for by John and by Jesus.  John preached saying:  “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven, is at hand” in Matthew 3:2.  John came to prepare the way for Christ.  Friends, notice Jesus’ words, recorded in Matthew 11:7-10, ‘And as these were going away, Jesus began to speak to the multitudes about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to look at?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man dressed in soft clothing?  Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces.  But why did you go out?  To see a prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet.  This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’”’
     But friends, John was not in the kingdom, or church as we can learn by what Jesus says in Matthew 11:11, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
     At the time Jesus promised to build His church, Matthew 16:16-18, John was already dead.  Therefore, the church could not have been established during John’s time.

     Jesus began His public ministry by preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17).  Jesus foretold that some of His contemporaries would still be living when His kingdom came as we can read in Mark 9:1, ‘And He was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”’
     After Jesus was resurrected, He commanded the apostles to wait in Jerusalem.  Notice the following from Acts 1:4-5, ‘And gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”’

     Friends, the church of Christ came into existence on the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2.  The prophecies about the coming of the church were fulfilled on that day.  Acts 2:16-17 indicate it was in the “last days” as Joel had prophesied*.  “but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:  ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your young men shall see visions, And your old men shall dream dreams;’”  [*EGW editor:  Joel 2:28-29]
     It was in Jerusalem as Joel and Isaiah had prophesied.  The Holy Spirit was poured out, just as Joel had prophesied.  Notice Peter’s words, recorded in Acts 2:16:  “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.”  The Son of David, that is, Christ, was reigning at the right hand of God as had been prophesied in 2 Samuel 7:12-13.  “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
     Notice the following from Acts 2:29-31, “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.  And so, because he was a prophet, and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon his throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.”

     On the day of Pentecost, salvation was available to those who called upon the name of the Lord, just as Joel had prophesied.  We see it starting in Acts 2:36-38, ‘“Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”  Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”  And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for* the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”’  [*EGW editor:  Greek “eis”, lit. “into”]
     The word of God went forth from Jerusalem unto all the world as Isaiah had prophesied.  To the church at Colosse, the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:23, “if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”

     Friends, the church OF Christ began in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ.  All of the many denominations in existence today had their beginning at some time other than the day of Pentecost and someplace other than Jerusalem.  Consequently, none of these denominations is the New Testament church we read about in the Bible.

     Friend, you can become a member of the church OF Christ the same way they did in the First Century:  by repenting of your sins (Acts 2:38), by confessing your faith in Jesus Christ to others (Matthew 10:32-33), and by being immersed in water to receive the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38).

     This Berean Break is brought to you, here in East River South Dakota, by the pre-denominational church of Christ that meets at 1600 East First Avenue in Mitchell SD.  You are welcome to meet with us at 10:00 Sunday mornings for our assembly followed by a time of Bible Study, also on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for an additional time to study God’s Word.  If you have a comment or a sincere Bible question, please call or text me at 605-770-5555.  The Berean Break is brought to you in West River South Dakota by the pre-denominational Prairie City church of Christ.  They also meet at 10:00 on Sunday morning.  You can contact them at 605-593-7045.  This is George A. Sinkie for the Lord’s church, good-bye for now, and remember to check out what I have taught with God’s Word.

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